Spermicidal activity of Azadirachta indica (neem) leaf extract

The present study was carried out to evaluate the effective concentration of aqueous extract of old and tender Azadirachta indica (neem) leaves to immobilize and kill 100% human spermatozoa within 20 s. Sander-Cramer test was used to study the spermicidal activity of neem leaf extract. Under the test conditions, minimum effective spermicidal concentrations for tender and old leaf extracts were 2.91 +/- 0.669 mg/million sperm and 2.75 +/- 0.754 mg/million sperm, respectively. The effect of extracts on morphology and viability of sperm was also studied and no change was observed in morphology of head, mid-piece and tail and no viable sperm seen. The leaf extracts were found to be water soluble and carbohydrate in nature. The effect of different concentrations of extracts (old and tender) on percentage motility of the sperm was also studied. With an increase in concentration, there is a linear decrease in percentage motility, becoming zero at a 3-mg dose within 20 s. (C) 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.